MOSCOW (Realist English). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov published an article titled “Ukraine, Europe and Global Security,” in which he outlined Russia’s vision of the Ukrainian crisis, Europe’s role and global security.
The text, originally intended for publication in the European edition of Politico Europe, was pulled by the editorial board at the last moment. Lavrov accused Europe of years of expansionist policies, undermining trust, and using negotiations as a stalling tactic ahead of the inevitable collapse of the Kyiv regime.
How Europe undermined security
The Russian foreign minister recalled that the entire experience of negotiations with the “collective West” over the past 20 years points to one thing: negotiations with Russia are a deceptive tactic, a diplomatic cover for the geopolitical expansion of NATO and the EU eastward toward Russian borders.
According to Lavrov, Europeans, together with Americans, instigated the “Orange Revolution” in 2004, spent years buying politicians and entire parties in Ukraine, rewriting history and cultivating Ukrainian nationalism.
The minister paid particular attention to the events of 2013–2014. When Kyiv asked to postpone the signing of the association agreement with the EU, Europeans, he said, provoked street protests and a coup in February 2014. Germany, France and Poland, having acted as guarantors of the agreement between the opposition and Viktor Yanukovych, “washed their hands” as soon as the opposition took power.
Lavrov also accused France and Germany of sabotaging the Minsk agreements. As guarantors, they de facto encouraged the Kyiv regime to renege on its commitments. As Angela Merkel and François Hollande admitted after the start of the SMO, the implementation of the Minsk agreements was never planned — it was only meant to buy time to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces.
In January 2022, the US and NATO rejected Russia’s proposal for legally binding mutual security guarantees, and after the start of the SMO, Europe supported Boris Johnson’s line to derail the Istanbul negotiations.
Peace as a cover for rearmament
Lavrov questioned the sincerity of European leaders who have started talking about negotiations. In his view, Europe’s real goal is not peace but saving Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime and preserving Ukraine as a foothold for fighting Russia. European capitals want to secure a quick ceasefire to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian armed forces on the front line, “freeze” the conflict without addressing its root causes, and immediately deploy military contingents of the “coalition of the willing” to Ukraine.
The minister recalled that EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas spoke about the need for dialogue with Russia to convey Europe’s terms, including reparations, withdrawal of troops from Transnistria and the South Caucasus, repeal of the “foreign agents” law, and limiting the size of Russia’s Armed Forces. At the same time, Europe continues its legal aggression through the Council of Europe, creating a “damage register,” a “claims commission” and a “special tribunal.”
“It is common knowledge that European elites have invested their ‘political capital’ in confrontation with Russia, spending hundreds of billions of dollars to support the Kyiv regime,” Lavrov writes. Europe plans to achieve “combat readiness” for a conflict with Russia by 2030, and until then wants to buy time. “As the Belgian chief of staff cynically said in April, ‘we still have several years thanks to the blood of Ukrainians, which buys us this time’.”
Paris’s nuclear umbrella and NATO’s aggressive plans
Lavrov warned that the current situation poses serious risks to global security, as a direct clash between NATO and Russia could quickly escalate into a nuclear exchange with catastrophic consequences. Particular concern is raised by Paris’s intentions to extend a “nuclear umbrella” to several EU and NATO countries, which, in the minister’s view, would not strengthen the security of either France or its partners.
At the same time, European politicians and military officials attribute to Russia aggressive plans supposedly not limited to Ukraine. “The Russian president has repeatedly stated that this is nonsense, provocation and disinformation aimed at extracting budget funds for the fight against Russia,” Lavrov stressed.
Russia’s position: without trust and ultimatums
Lavrov confirmed that Russia does not refuse contacts, but views Europe as a party to the conflict interested in Russia’s defeat. “The Europeans themselves openly position themselves as such,” he noted. Dialogue with Europe cannot be conducted as if it were an impartial outside observer.
Russia prefers the goals of the SMO to be achieved through diplomacy, provided that security on its western borders, the honor and dignity of its citizens, including their right to their native Russian language and Orthodox faith, are reliably guaranteed. “There can be no question of continuing Western military-political and economic expansion — this contradicts the imperatives of a multipolar world.”
Lavrov called on European leaders to understand that the old model of regional security has been destroyed by their own hands. It is necessary to move toward creating a continent-wide security architecture open to all Eurasian countries. “The principle of equal and indivisible security, trampled in Euro-Atlantic constructs, can be realised in a new Eurasian architecture.”
The main thing, according to the minister, is to restore trust, undermined by the anti-Russian actions of the West. “Trust cannot be restored, nor dialogue resumed, through ultimatums like the one presented to Russia in London on June 7.”